Mermaid Song
by Consynthia
Summary: A romance blossoms between Prince Sherlock and a mermaid named Sally turns into an epic adventure to protect Sally's home when an ancient evil threatens to destroy it.
1. Chapter One

She moved through the current of the sea. The cool water was like satin against her skin. Her long blonde hair trailed behind her as she swam. Her arms helped push her through the water with her tail propelling her along. She swam in the shallows of the ocean, feeling the light from the sun tracing over her pale skin. She kept swimming peacefully, heading away from her home when she saw a shadow dancing on the surface of the water. Sally slowly began to swim closer, her curiosity getting the better of her as she went up to the surface of the water. When she emerged from the salty water, she saw the vessel. It wasn't a shadow like she had initially thought, but a large ship. She slowly raised one of her hands and pushed her hair away from her face. As soon as her view wasn't obscured by her hair she saw a dark haired man leaving over the edge of the boat, staring down at her as she gazed up at him.

Sherlock thought it would be a good day for boating. The sun was high in the sky and the wind was light. He went to the shore to his boat. He climbed inside and got into position before rowing out to sea. He sailed out away from the seashore, doing slow and steady strokes as he moved across the surface of the water. A cool breeze blew upon him and he smiled, gazing out at the dazzling sea around him. That was when he spotted a shape in the water. Immediately he recognized the tail of a fish, so he watched as it came closer. But as the fish neared the water's surface, the outline of arms and a human head confused him. Suddenly a young woman's head came above the water. He stared as she removed the hair from her face and stared right back up at him. It was a fish-woman! No, not a fish-woman, a mermaid, Sherlock corrected himself. He had heard stories about them, but of course being of logical mind, he never believed them. For all he knew, this woman was simply wearing a suit of sorts and trying to trick him. First he decided to know what her name was, if she had one.

"Who are you?" he asked politely.

Sally tilted her head at him before swimming closer to the boat, she ran her finger tips over the slick wood of the boat. The wood was smooth under her fingertips, almost as if it was made of marble or glass.

"My name's Sally, if that's what you're getting at," she said in an uninterested tone.

She quickly dived under the water, breathing like a normal human would on land and in air as she inspected the bottom of the vessel before popping up at the other side and resting her folded arms on the edge of the boat.

"What's your name?" She asked him with a smile as the water trickled down her face and dripped into the bottom of the boat.

He watched her as she came closer to the boat and gave him her name. He repeated her name before Sally disappeared into the water again. He looked around quickly, wondering where she had went before Sally popped up on the other side of his boat. He looked at her in amazement. Maybe she really was a mermaid...? No, Sherlock still wasn't quite buying it. Sally asked him what his name was, and he was obliged to answer.

"Sherlock," he replied. He asked his second question, "Are you really a mermaid?"

"No, I'm just out in the centre of the ocean talking to a man in a boat while not freezing to death," she frowned at him.

She kept her torso under the boat so that he didn't see anything that she didn't want him to see. For example, her perky breasts which were only just covered by her hair.

"So, Sherlock, what brings you here?" She smiled softly at him.

She was definitely sassy, that was for sure. He couldn't see the rest of her, but he was beginning to believe she really was a mermaid.

At her question, he responded, "I like the sea. Being on the water is relaxing for me. Besides, today's a good day to be out boating, don't you think?"

"Not really, there's going to be a storm soon," she said calmly while having a cheeky taste of the water.

She wet her hair again so that it didn't dry out in a horrific fashion. She then stared at him with a frown.

Sherlock shrugged and said, "I'll be out of the water before it starts. I'm not very worried." He gave her a smile of reassurance before saying, "How come I've never seen you around before? I usually come out to sea a lot."

"I never really surface, and no one ever comes this far out to sea," she shrugged softly before sighing.

"So did my boat draw you to the surface then?" Sherlock asked curiously.

She nodded with a faint laugh. "Yeah, it did. I saw its shadow,"

"I'm glad it did, to be honest," said Sherlock softly. "I've never seen a mermaid before. Then again, not many people have. I've always thought you were just a myth."

She shook her head.

"No, I'm definitely a myth, you're hallucinating about me," she smirked at him before hopping into the boat.

Sherlock was about to respond when Sally suddenly jumped into his boat. His eyes immediately went to her tail, which was long with glistening red scales still wet with salty water. It looked genuinely attached to the torso, which only confirmed the mermaid thing to be a certainty. His gaze went to her chest, where there was a pair of round breasts covered by long strands of golden hair. Realizing he was staring, Sherlock quickly averted his gaze, looking back at her face.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Your scales are beautiful," he said, giving her a compliment to make up for his rude staring.

"Are you sure you're not talking about my breasts?" She asked while covering them up with her hair again. "Feel free to touch my tail though," she said with a smile as she made sure that she was sufficiently covered and that there was no nipple poking through.

Her tail was most definitely attached to her and the scales gradually turned back into skin halfway up her waist. On her arms she had some scales but they weren't really there to servants a purpose, only there for decoration.

"I actually wish I had legs,"

"N-no of course not!" Sherlock said quickly.

He reddened in embarrassment, keeping his eyes on her face. He did want to touch her tail, however, see what it felt like. Curiously, he reached out, running his fingers over crimson scales. They felt as real as they looked. He drew his hand back and returned his eyes to her face again. At her leg comment, he chuckled slightly.

"Legs are useful, after all," he said with a smile.

Sally watched him ran his hand over her tail with a smile playing on her lips. She signed softly with a wistful expression clear on her face.

"The only use for a tail is to swim much faster than someone with legs. With legs you can walk, dance, do everything," she sighed staring at the tail.

"With a tail you could swim deeper into the ocean too, probably," Sherlock pointed out. "What's it like down there by the way? Are there many other mermaids where you're from?" he asked, purely curious now.

"Where I'm from there's around twenty different families," she said with a smile. "I can swim pretty deep I just choose not to, it's not the nicest of feelings having tonnes of water crushing down on you," she shrugged. "That's why I swim quite high up!" She grinned at him before rearranging her hair and looking at the sky.

"Interesting," he murmured as Sally answered his question. He nodded when she finished speaking and said, "That does make sense. Though I'm sure your biology is constructed so you can endure that much pressure, being a mermaid and all."

Another wind came in their direction, but a little bit stronger this time. The sky was beginning to get gray with storm clouds at this point.

"The storm's about to start," said Sherlock, looking up at the darkening sky as the wind began to pick up. "I should go..." he looked at Sally, a little disappointed that the storm was interrupting their meeting.

Sally nodded. "Next time you come here I'll know," she grinned at him before diving back into the water. "But get going, I don't want to find you floating unconscious in the water!" She laughed at him before diving under the water with a cheesy grin on her face.

She was happy that she had met someone knew and didn't think she was weird for being half fish.

Sherlock smiled and waved before Sally dived back into the water. Sherlock watched her disappear under the water and focused on sailing back to shore. His father would be getting worried, so he needed to hurry anyway. Sherlock started rowing his boat hard, moving the oars as he pushed himself back across the water in the direction of the shore. The wind was coming faster and stronger, making the boat rock dangerously. He fought against the waves, but then the rain came down and an even stronger gust of wind came upon him. Sherlock's eyes widened as his boat was pushed almost completely on its side. He leaned away from the water, trying to push the boat back but another large wave beat him to it. The boat turned over and Sherlock was thrown into the water.

He had let go of the oars and was trying to stay above surface as he looked for his boat. The waves were carrying his boat away from him and Sherlock tried desperately to swim back to it. Then a current swept him under the water, causing him to swallow large amounts of salty water. He was gagging and failing to breathe. His consciousness started to fade as the last of his willpower was taken by the force of the sea.

Sally swam against the rough current, trying to fight the storm as she dove down into the water. She swam furiously before reaching her home. The water was nearly still as she entered the coral building. She looked into the polished glass mirror and looked at the grin that was plastered to her face. She thought that the man she had met was kind, and he was attractive so she thought that that was also a plus! She combed her fingers through her hair, only thinking about the man. She sensed that something bad was happening so she left her home, beginning to make her way back to the point in surface that the two of them had met at.

It seemed like moments had passed when she saw the shadow in the shape of a man, it was getting larger and not because she was swimming closer but because the male was sinking. With one swift movement of her tail she moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, propelling the both of them up towards the surface of the water. She looked around before holding him with his head above the water. She looked at him and pushed his dripping hair away from his face.

It was the man who she couldn't get out of her mind.

Sherlock was just about to slip from consciousness before he felt arms take hold of him. He was being lifted back up and soon his head was back above the water. He coughed and spluttered violently as his body tried to remove all the water he had swallowed. After several moments of doing so, he blinked and saw who had saved him. It was the young mermaid woman he had just met.

"Sally...?" he was surprised and gently moved away from her so he could float on his own. "Thank you," he said with a smile. "But I need to get out of the water before I drown again...do you mind helping me back to shore?"

"No, I don't mind," she smiled. "Put your arm around my shoulder," she said.

She waited for him to do that while she looked around to find the shore line. When she located it she began to swim, keeping a tight grasp on his waist. It was much harder for her to swim when her head was above the surface but she had to swim like that so that Sherlock didn't drown again.

"I did tell you to leave earlier," she said firmly to him then sighed as the land came closer.

When the water became too shallow for her to swim she stopped. "Will you be able to make it from here?"

Sherlock did so and swam as well so Sally wouldn't have such a hard time. He went with her until she came to a stop. "Yeah, I can," Sherlock said with a nod. "I hope I can see you soon," he added a moment later. "Thank you again." Sherlock made the remainder of the journey to the shore and as he stepped onto the sand, he turned back towards the sea. He gave Sally a wave before heading off back to his own palace.

Upon his return, his servants were fraught with worry. Sherlock reassured them he was fine as they took him to the washroom to clean him up. Once so, he went to see his father in his study. Sherlock told his father about his boating trip and how he had almost drowned but a kind fisherman had caught him and brought him to safety. He didn't tell his father about Sally, in fear that something bad would happen to her. He didn't want to tell anyone about her in fact, for her own safety. She was so kind to him, and Sherlock thought it would be very rude if he gave anyone knowledge of her existence so they could go hunting for her.

Sherlock went to his room that night and took out his journal. It was supposed to be a scientific journal, but he wanted to put in something about Sally. He wrote about how Sally had looked and how her voice had sounded. He made sure to write her name down so he wouldn't forget it, and then made a note to keep an eye out for her the next time he went boating. Sherlock found himself still thinking about Sally even as he got into his bed that night.


	2. Chapter Two

Under the rough waves of the Pacific Ocean, Sally sat in the centre of a large library of her home. She had a sketchpad resting against her tail as she committed her memory of Sherlock to paper. She sketched the way his curls moved in the ocean breeze, the curve of his cupids bow and the way the corner of his eyes crinkled as he smiled. As she sketched she took breaks to smile and sigh at the man she had met before going back to her sketch of him. The drawing of him that she did was of a very close likeness of him. She sighed again, beginning to wonder when she'd be able to see him next. She began to hope that she would see him the next day if he went out boating again. As she imagined him, the push and pull of the tide lulled her into a dreamless sleep.

Sherlock wanted to go back to the sea that day. He didn't know if he would see the mermaid again, but he hoped he would. She seemed to like him too, so maybe she would come up to the surface again. He got ready to go and ignored his servants' frantic pleads for him to stay and rest after almost drowning yesterday. He would be fine. He knew he would be. He hoped he would be, at least. Sherlock went back to the seashore and stood at the water's edge, looking out at the sea. Then he got into his boat and pushed off away from shore. This time he only went as far as long as he could still see the shore. After a long period of rowing, he took a break, putting his oars on the floor of his boat. He looked around the sea, wondering if Sally would show up today.

Sally swam away from her chores in the place she called home, she was just the daughter of a nobleman in the mer-kingdom. She wasn't even noticed by anyone in the kingdom so she just swam away, no one noticing the flash of her red tail as she sped towards where she first met him. God how she wanted to see him again, and feel the warmth of his lips against hers, but she knew that it was forbidden. She was betrothed to someone else, a man named James, or Jim, as he liked to be called. She didn't even like him but her father was blind to that after her mother died in a horrible fishing accident.

When she surfaced at their meeting point she looked around, her glimmer of hope that he would be there died down. Then she saw the small boat that he had come to the sea in and swam towards it under the surface so she could arrive there faster. When she did she swam under the boat and resurfaced with a cheesy grin on her face.

"Hello!" She exclaimed.

Sherlock sighed, feeling slightly disappointed, but that instantly vanished when Sally popped out of the water next to the boat. He meant to smile back but it ended up being a goofy grin. "Hey, Sally," he said, glad she had come. "Sorry I didn't come out as far as yesterday. I'm keeping the shore in view in case a storm shows up again," he explained.

She nodded, understanding what he meant.

"I'll be able to warn you, but there isn't going to be any storms today. No one has annoyed Poseidon yet," she giggled.

She remembered the news that went around the kingdom that Poseidon had completely lost his shit because someone had moved his tail decorations. It wasn't funny for her as someone she cared about was stuck out at sea in the midst of the storm.

"So, how are you feeling now?" She asked him, genuinely concerned.

He chuckled and said, "Good to hear. I'm feeling fine, really." He tried not to sound too annoyed towards her, even though she was like the tenth person to ask him that. "Thank you again, for yesterday," Sherlock said, trying to sound nicer again.

He gave her a smile as he thought about all the questions he still had for her. She had mentioned Poseidon, who was supposedly a god of the sea. It made sense he would be king to the mermaid species as well.

He saw her tail just underneath the water and decided to ask his first question. "I apologize if this seems like a stupid question to you, but do most of your kind have red tails or does it mostly vary in colour?"

She blushed slightly before looking away. "I'm the only one here with a red tail..." She mumbled, feeling embarrassed because she didn't like having a red tail.

She had heard that people in other parts of the world had red tails.

"But here they're generally greens and blues, I think it's because of the wintry climate in the water," she sighed. "But there are some people with purple tails, and white tails. God those tails are beautiful," she sighed.

She was jealous of the people with those colour tails but she knew that her red tail suited her. She rested her arms on the edge of the boat and placed her chin on them.

"So, do all of your people have black hair and blue eyes?" She asked him with a devilish smirk.

She wanted to find out where he was from, and know as much about him as she possibly could without it seeming creepy.

So she was a rarity, and that definitely made her more interesting. He heard the wistfulness in her sigh as she mentioned the other colours, and was about to ask another question when she spoke again.

"I suppose it's only fair I get to answer some questions too, isn't it?" he said with a chuckle. "No, not all of us. Some have brown hair, some have blonde, some have red or orange hair. Unfortunately we don't get any naturally purple haired people or blue haired people. Black, blonde, brown, and red are the only four hair colours there are, varying in shades of course," he explained.

Then he thought of another question and posed it to her, "Am I the only human you've seen or have you come across others?"

"You're the only human I've ever seen, mainly because people are too stupid to get too close when they see something huge with a tail swimming towards them," she had a slightly sad look on her face.

He was the only human she had met, and she felt drawn to him by some sort of string. But he probably didn't feel the same way that she did, no one ever really felt the same way as she did. She looked down into the waters. The man she was meant to be marrying didn't even feel the same way towards her as she did him; all he cared about was the perfect little housewife he was getting while he ruled the oceans with a cruel hand.

She looked back up at him and gave him a sad smile. "So, where are you from?"

"I'm from Wales," Sherlock replied. "That's the land you can see there in the distance," he pointed towards the shoreline. "The king is my father, so really I'm a prince. You may still call me Sherlock, since I'm the only one who knows about you and we're not in a place where such formalities are needed." Sherlock shrugged, not noticing the sadness behind her smile. "Besides, I come out to sea to escape from my royal duties and briefly be a regular man. I'd rather not be reminded of my title out here."

She smiled softly, mentally storing the fact that he was a prince into her mental notes. A faint grin played on her lips as she imagined him wearing his crown and royal robes.

"Well, for me in a few months time I'll be the queen of where I'm from, Coralentia," she said calmly. "But my betrothed is going to rule with a cruel hand," she sighed heavily.

She looked to the sky and smiled before dunking again so her hair didn't dry out, she kept her hands on the side of the boat so that she didn't drift away or under the boat and knock herself unconscious.

"I think you might like my home, its calm, no one cared about titles unless you're the King or the Queen," she smiled at him before looking to him. She ran her fingernail over the grain of the wood. "But I don't think you'd be able to see where I'm from because it's way over there," she pointed into the distance.

Sherlock frowned when he heard the sadness in her voice as she spoke about her betrothal. Sherlock considered asking about it, but decided not to as it really wasn't his business. Sherlock did like the sound of her home already. He wished he could see it, but that probably would never happen seeing as he was a human without gills or fins. He looked in the direction Sally pointed; knowing as well as she did that he wouldn't be able to see it either.

"If there was a way to go there, I would love to see it," said Sherlock with a genuine smile.

She smiled. "Some weird mermaid scientists actually found a way," she shrugged nonchalantly.

The mermaid sighing again and fiddling with the engagement necklace that rested against her chest. Sally dropped the necklace back onto her sternum with a frown.

"I actually wish I could see your world sometime, but there isn't a way for me to do that," she looked into the bottom of the boat and grinned.

She looked at him with a devilish smile. "You know, if I can get the bracelet that'll enable you to see my home I'll bring it to you and show you around,"

"You make it sound like you have to steal it," said Sherlock as a playful smirk spread across his lips. "You'd be willing to do that for me?"

She nodded. "It technically wouldn't be stealing, only borrowing," she winked at him and dunked. "If you give me half an hour I'll be able to get it for you,"

He smiled more and said, "I'll wait right here."

He felt excitement leap forward in his chest at the thought of being able to discover a new world. He wished he could bring something with him to take notes, but since it would be underwater it would be pointless. He would just have to take everything into memory.

"Stay here," she told him firmly.

She dived back into the water, her tail flicking up into the air and glistening a bright red. She slipped through the water with elegance before diving further down to reach her home. She swam through the halls before grabbing her seaweed bag and swam into the room where the bracelet was kept. Using a letter opener she opened the glass case and quickly shoved the bracelet into her bag before leaving and returning to Sherlock. She was absolutely ecstatic that Sherlock was going to see her home with her.

Sherlock waited patiently until Sally returned.

He beamed at her when she resurfaced and said, "I guess you had no trouble. How does the bracelet work though?"

"You'll need to take your boat somewhere so that it doesn't drift off," she said before taking the bracelet out of the green bag. "You basically put it onto your wrist, get in the water and bam, you get a tail!"

"Hmm, all right. Good thing I stayed near the shore then," said Sherlock. "I'll be right back."

Sherlock took the bracelet and set it down next to him as he rowed back to the shore. He beached his boat before putting the bracelet on and wading into the water. Sherlock waited a moment before he felt a weird sensation in his legs. They were suddenly molding together, and his feet were spreading out and becoming fins. Moments later, he had his very own tail. This one was a dark navy, which he liked. He tried swimming with it, and found it wasn't too hard. He just had to move his tail back and forth to propel himself through the water. He went underwater and to his surprise, he was able to breathe. Pleased with this new discovery, Sherlock swam back to where Sally was waiting for him.

"This is really cool," he said as he reached her. "I'm ready."

She laughed slightly at him before grinning.

"It's not that great," she offered him her hand.

Before he took it she dove under the water she just grabbed it and pulled him down with her. She smirked at him before gazing at him. He looked good with a tail, but she knew that he couldn't stay like that with her forever. He had his own country, and she had her kingdom. She began to swim towards the city with her hand in his. She looked over her shoulder at him and smiled, they were close to her home.

When they were close to the city she let go of his hand and gazed out over the brightly coloured coral homes. The palace was the most beautiful place by far, with white coral turrets, and flags made from coloured seaweed floating above them.

Sherlock held her hand and swam with her as she led him to her home. Sherlock looked on in wonder at the underwater world around him, and his eyes grew even wider when he saw the city. It was exhilarating.

"This is incredible," Sherlock murmured as he paused to admire the beauty of the underwater city.

He smiled at Sally, truly glad she had given him this chance.

Of course, he began to wonder how all this worked. How had mermaids managed to create an entire society and culture under the sea? The scientific part of his mind was racing as he struggled to come up with answers for all these. He almost forgot to just enjoy the moment, and one look at the red tailed woman beside him took him out of his reverie.

"Lead the way, Sally," he said with a grin.

"It's Lady here, if we're close to the palace," she sighed before swimming closer to the ground and began to enter the city, smiling at the people she passed by.

She glanced back at Sherlock and gestured for him to follow her. The buildings in the city all had an iridescent shimmer to it as they passed them by. This deep under the water, Sally's tail looked more vivid than it had been before when she was above the water or at the surface.

"Ah, sorry my Lady," Sherlock said before he followed her through the city.

He looked around at the other mer-people but tried not to look like he was staring. He was just fascinated by everything, and almost lost sight of Sally before he spotted her unique red tail.

He quickly caught up to her, apologizing before asking, "So where are we going, my Lady?"

"I said not until we're close to the palace, it's just Sally up until there," she grinned at him before turning left because she was taking him to her favourite place in the city.

She swam out into the centre of a large, open area and smiled. The kelp grew high around the circular area and bubbles rose from stiff columns of pink and blue coral.

He shrugged in response and continued swimming alongside her. He was in awe as he saw the scenery around him. It really was beautiful.

"You're lucky if you get to see this every day," Sherlock said to Sally as he looked around. "We have mountains and trees, fields of flowers and rolling hills. Here, it's just...amazing..." He let himself trail off as he admired the view with a smile.

She smiled at him before stopping in the centre of the formation.

"This is my favourite place to go!" She said with a sigh.

It was where her mother used to take her when she was younger before she was killed.

"You know, I'd give anything to be able to go see your world, this place is bland to me now... After sixteen years of being here I'm used to it..."

"I can understand that," Sherlock said, nodding slowly. "Unfortunately our scientists haven't discovered any methods to allow mermaids to come onto land. Then again, they don't even know mermaids really exist." He laughed slightly at his joke and looked at Sally. "If I find a way though, I'll let you know."

She smiled at him before sitting on a old statue that looked as if it had been dropped into the sea thousands of years ago.

Sherlock stayed where he was as Sally went to take a seat on the side.

After a long moment he swam over to Sally, lingering in the water as he said, "I hope you feel the same way I do right now when I show you my home. If I ever get a chance to that is."

She smiled softly.

"I'd love to see your home, but I know that it's nearly impossible..." She looked down at her fins.

Then Sally sighed, subconsciously playing with her hair as she sighed. She glanced at him before looking back down. She liked him as something more than just a 'friend' but she had to subdue those feelings; she was engaged to somebody else for crying out loud!


	3. Chapter Three

"Well if your scientists managed to find a way to let humans become merpeople, then surely they can find a way to get merpeople onto land. It can't be that impossible." said Sherlock, trying to get Sally to look at it in a more positive view. "Though I am curious about how they made such a device. It's almost like magic, but I know there's a more logical explanation."

Sally looked up at him, frowning at his question. In legends merpeople had always been depicted as having some sort of magic.

"No, it is magic. Not science. They actually came across it by accident, they were trying to find a way to give us legs and some stuff happened and it backfired," she shrugged. "They tested it on a man who was drowning," she sighed.

She ran her hands over her face.

"Some people can do it, others can't. It's hereditary," she shrugged again as she finished playing with her hair.

"Interesting," Sherlock murmured, looking thoughtful.

He knew some legends said mermaids had magical powers, but he never believed them. Then again, he never believed mermaids existed in the first place. Looking at Sally, he wondered if she had any magical powers of her own.

"Do you have magic?" He asked curiously.

"I study it, but no. I can't do any magic just yet," she sighed.

She had tried and tried to get something to work for her, but she had never been able to do it. She looked down at her hands and sighed. Her mother was able to conjure the forces of the moon, but she just couldn't. It was almost like she didn't have any power in her, or any ability to conjure anything. She looked up towards the surface with a sad look on her face, remembering the times that her mother used her magic to soothe her woes, and to help people in need.

Sherlock nodded in understanding. So it was something that needed to be learned. Where he was from, magic was just another myth. It did make him wonder if there was magic on the surface like there was in the mermaids' realm. He wanted to ask another question when he saw the sad look on Sally's face.

"Sally?" he said her name softly.

He tried to think of something comforting and said, "You're already magical, in my opinion." He gave her a genuine smile as he continued, "You're a mermaid, first of all. You can breathe underwater, there is magic in your world, and you've created an entire culture hidden from human eyes. It's incredible!"

"It's incredible," she mimicked him.

Sally looked up at him, her eyes full of anger and well, pity. A pity in which he didn't know what his people had done to hers.

"Do you want to know why we had to hide away in the deepest part of the ocean?" She said bitterly. "Your people enslaved mine, put them into freak shows, bisected us and studied us, we hid away because we were dying out," she snapped at him.

A bright spark flashed by her hands, her anger fuelling the magic inside of her. Sally didn't notice though, she was too enraged by his offhand comment about their 'culture hidden from human eyes'. The vivid red spark flared up again as she remembered what _they_ had done to her mother.

"Your kind murdered my mother so that they could find out more about us," she snarled.

Her sudden outburst took him by surprise. He slowly backed away a little bit when he saw sparks flying from her hands. "I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, a little afraid by the amount of power she was displaying. His eyes went back to the flashing sparks and he said, "Sally, your hands!"

She looked at him with her jaw clenched. She was absolutely livid with him, but then she too noticed the sparks and they stopped. They just fizzed out and ebbed away. She looked at her hands in shock, she had never been able to do anything. She took a deep breath before relaxing, but she had the most pained expression on her face. She shook her head before getting off of the statue and swimming towards the kelp, away from him.

"You're not sorry, it's obvious. You're just interested in exploiting my culture, and finding new ways to get information from us," she said icily.

It was almost as if the temperature had dropped in the ocean, which it had. Sally had studied the magic of changing temperature depending on what her mood was.

Sherlock stared at her in silence, not wanting to speak in fear of making her angrier. Her last sentence wasn't entirely correct however.

He swam after her as he called out, "Sally, wait! You're wrong." He pushed himself forward hard with his tail to catch up to her. "Sally, it's true that I do want to know more about you, but I have no intention to exploit you or your kind. I'm not that kind of person. You can get mad at me for being a scientist and wanting to be curious, but don't get mad at me for something I myself didn't do."

She growled slightly before abruptly stopping in the middle of the kelp.

"Do you want to get to know _me_, or more about my kind? All humans are the same, always wanting to destroy everything _good_ that they find," She snarled at him.

She was angry with him; wholeheartedly angry, she didn't care how wrong he thought she was. She was furious. Her hands sparked again, and this time the spark stayed. The glow enveloped her hands and forearms, causing the scales there to glow a fiery red. The green kelp around her wilted and withered away, turning into grey sand as her power grew within her.

Sherlock blinked, looking at her. He was starting to understand the real reason why she was angry. He did not back away this time, keeping his focus on her. He considered her question, knowing if he chose the wrong answer he would never be able to speak to her again. And he did like speaking with her, not just because she was a mermaid, but because she was herself.

"If it's a choice, then I would choose you," he said. "Because I do choose you, Sally."

"Don't you dare lie to me," she said firmly, her voice was low, holding a threat inside of it.

Her hands were clenched into tight fists as the temperature in the water dropped even further by her own doing. She wasn't angry because she liked him, no, she was angry because he was the first human she had opened up to, and the first person to have been let into Coralentia. Her hair moved in the swirling current she was creating around the two of them. The current she was creating bent the kelp over as it pushed against the flat, brown-green leaves.

The current was making Sherlock a little nervous, but he tried to stay calm.

"Sally, I'm telling the truth. Honestly," he said, looking at her with a serious expression. "I haven't even told anyone about meeting you. If i had, there would probably be an entire fleet of ships above us right now. I don't intend to tell anyone, because I like you and I would care if anything happened to you."

She snarled slightly. She let her hands relax, but she was still angry with him. She stopped the current before taking a deep breath.

"I let you come here once, and you ruined it, now leave." She snapped at him before swimming off.

She moved fast through the water; not caring about the bracelet, which she did need to return back to its case or she would get into A Whole New World of trouble. She swam quickly to the place she called home, hoping that Sherlock would not dare to follow her.

Sherlock sighed. He really had ruined it, now that he looked around. He watched her go with a sad look, knowing it was his fault. He didn't follow her. She was angry enough already. He told himself he should return home, since he had been gone a while and his servants were probably about to have heart attacks. Sherlock turned and swam back up to the surface, returning to the shore. He removed the bracelet and waited until he had legs again. He put his clothes back on and looked at the bracelet, realizing he needed to return it. Sherlock didn't know if Sally wanted to see him again, and she probably didn't. Still, he needed to return the bracelet. Sherlock decided he would come back tomorrow and wait on the water in case she came to the surface for him.

Sally swam back and forth in the room she slept in. Her hands and scales still glowed. She was still angry with him for even thinking about asking her those questions about her home and culture just so that he could exploit them, and have her whole world come crumbling down. Eventually Sally stopped pacing and lay on the bed that wasn't really a bed. She closed her eyes and fell asleep, hoping that she wouldn't still be angry with him.

In the morning, Sally told her own servants that she was going for a swim like she did most days and began to long swim to the surface only to retrieve the bracelet and return back home to resume her duties as Queen-to-be. As she got closer to the surface she began to get angry again, angry with Sherlock.

Surprisingly it was only a little late into the afternoon when he returned, so his servants weren't that worried. He hid the bracelet under his pillow when he went to his room. That night, he wasn't thinking about what he had learned, but more about Sally. She had been so furious with him, and she had every right to be. Sherlock didn't even deserve to be down in the water with her. He would return the bracelet and apologize even though Sally probably wouldn't forgive him yet.

The next morning he went to his boat again. He pushed it into the shallow waters of the ocean and got in before rowing away from the shore. Sherlock continued rowing until he thought he was around the spot where he had met Sally the day before. He took the bracelet out of his pocket and held it in his hands as he waited for Sally to surface. As he did, he also thought about what he would say to her.

Sally resurfaced, only wanting the bracelet so that she could get back home. She stared at Sherlock and held her hand above the water, not holding onto the edge of the boat so she could make a quick getaway.

"I'll have the bracelet now," she said tonelessly. She didn't want to talk; she just wanted to take the bracelet home. "And don't bother trying to apologize to me,"

Her emotionless words hurt Sherlock. He looked at her with sad eyes. He wished there was a way he could fix this, but he didn't know how. She didn't even want to hear his apology. Sherlock sighed in resignation.

"Fine..." he said, handing over the bracelet, "Goodbye Sally..." he said softly, taking in her beautiful face one last time before she left him.

She rolled her eyes, putting the bracelet onto her wrist. Nothing happened.

"Don't look at me like that," she said coldly as she looked away from him. "You can say whatever you want, it just won't mean anything to me anymore."

She kept her gaze cast towards the distance and the shore line, watching the way that the waves glistened in the afternoon sunlight.

"So talk," she said icily.

Sherlock kept his eyes on her regardless. He thought about what she had said to him yesterday in her rage. She had said his people had killed her mother.

"I'm sorry about your mother," said Sherlock. "I didn't know, like I didn't know a lot of things I suppose. No one ever apologized for that, and I know an apology won't fix it, but still...I'm sorry." He spoke softly, not knowing if Sally was really listening or not but talking anyway. "I'm sure she was a wonderful woman."

She looked at him with sadness in her eyes.

"She was, she was murdered because of your people wanting to know more about us. The _king_ ordered it to happen. The man you call your father," she said bitterly.

She gripped the bracelet tightly against her wrist and frowned at him.

"So do you see why I got angry with you? You were asking questions, and you told me you were the prince," she snapped at him before softening her gaze. "They dumped her body back into the ocean, her tail severed from her body, and all of her limbs were at disjointed angles."

She remembered the way that her blood spread through the ocean, tainting it red like her tail and the scales on her arms. The water had tasted of iron and even more salty that day. She was only eight when her mother was taken from her and three days later her mother was dumped back into the sea, exactly over the spot where she was playing. The memory was seared into her memory.

His eyes widened at the mention of his father. He was silent, his thoughts racing in his mind. Why had his father never told him about this? It was history, so he should have learned about it a long time ago. Why had his father chosen to hide this awful news from Sherlock? The answer was obvious. So Sherlock wouldn't hate him. Well the secret was out now, and Sherlock felt a growing rage towards his father. Sherlock was a scientist, he was curious, he loved learning new things, but he would never do something like that. His own father...

"He never told me," Sherlock said out loud. He growled in frustration. Yes, he did see why Sally was angry with him. It was all clear to him now. "Sally," his voice was firm and holding thinly veiled anger. "I promise I will never be like my father. I can promise you that." He wanted to go back to the palace and confront his father about this. Sherlock would never go that far with his love for learning. He had even made a vow not to do so when he was younger. His own father had even told him not to go that far. The hypocrite!

"I am so sorry, I am so sorry for my father's actions, and I promise you he will be punished," Sherlock said with conviction.

"Goodbye, Sherlock," she said calmly, concealing the sadness in her voice by staying calm.

She dived back under the water her tail flicking out of the water and spraying Sherlock with the salty water as she wanted him to see the last red flash of her tail before she disappeared from his life for good. She swam down into the ocean, going back to her home. She swam through the halls of her house before entering the library and replacing the bracelet back where she had found it. She hadn't noticed the dark shadow in the corner of the room as she removed all traces of her borrowing the bracelet from the home.

Sherlock watched her go. He had a feeling it would be the last time he saw her, but he hoped it wouldn't be. He watched her shadow disappear from view before starting to row back to shore. He beached his boat and went back to the castle, ready to confront his father. He ignored his servants questioning why he was returning so early as he went right into the throne room. His father was speaking with some ambassadors from another country, but he didn't care.

"Father, I need to speak to you immediately. I apologize for interrupting this meeting, but this is far more important." His father sighed, looking at him for a long moment.

Finally he dismissed the ambassadors so Sherlock could speak to him.

James watched his betrothed move quickly about the room, oblivious to his presence. He had discovered the bracelet being stolen the night before, but decided not to mention it until Sally returned with it.

He waited for Sally to finish before saying, "Welcome home, my love." He moved from his spot and went to her, pulling her into his arms and looking her in her eyes. "And what has my pretty mermaid been doing with an enchanted bracelet?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.


	4. Chapter Four

Sally looked up at her betrothed in horror. He had seen her put the bracelet back. He knew that she had taken it in the first place. Her look of horror only lasted for a moment before dissolving into a look of faux-adoration.

"Hello, my king," she smiled at him as she slipped her arms around his shoulders. "I was going to see if I could work any magic on it to dispel the enchantment cast over it. I don't think it worked though," she said with a sigh. She slipped her hands to rest against his bare chest. "How was your day, my sweet?"

"Lonely without you," he said with a grin. "But I managed. Been doing some...preparations for our big day, you know? Now...enough about me..." he paused to play with the engagement necklace around her neck, twirling the chain around his finger. "How could you possibly dispel the magic on the bracelet? You can't even do magic, right?" He looked at her, daring her to tell him the truth. "Or might you possibly have some special spark behind those pretty eyes of yours?"

She looked at him playing with the chain around her neck.

"Well, you'd be surprised what happens when you have enough passion," she smiled at him before pressing a chaste kiss to his lips. "And I do have magic in me, I just can't figure out how to use it on command," she muttered.

She gave him a sweet smile after she had finished speaking and after she had removed her lips from his. "

How did the preparations go?" She asked him, wanting to change the topic from her to their wedding.

She knew that he was trying to get information out of her on why she was really using the bracelet but she wasn't going to let him do that.

"Oh...they aren't quite finished yet," said James.

He could tell the kiss was forced, but he didn't really care. He was only marrying Sally so he could have a queen at his side when he finally ruled the ocean. He didn't give two fishtails about her, but her recent actions had been making him suspicious. He hoped she wasn't trying to find out what he had planned for them. He was the only one who knew, and he had worked very hard to keep it all secret. James decided to use a different tactic.

"I heard you were seen out with another merman. Is there something I should know about?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

She gave him a saddened look. "He was only a friend, there is nothing going on between us, at least there isn't anymore," she said truthfully.

She didn't expect to see Sherlock again anytime soon. She slowly, and hesitantly took his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers.

"I would never even dream of being with another man..." She murmured.

She brought James' hand up to her lips and pressed gentle kisses to the pads of his fingers.

James frowned, wondering what the hell Sally was thinking.

"Did he hurt you, Sally?" he asked, only pretending to care in hopes of keeping her as his.

He didn't care about her, but he needed her to stay with him. James didn't want any other men having her.

He was eerily calm as he said, "I'm not angry. Just tell me, did he hurt you?"

Sherlock had just spent a good 20 minutes having a heated argument with his father. He lied about how he had obtained the information about the mermaids, saying he had discovered it in the library. His father was justifying his actions by saying he was doing his job as a king. Sherlock couldn't listen to any of this. He stormed out of the room without another word. He went to his own room and fell back on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. He would never see Sally again. He hated his father, and didn't plan on forgiving him anytime soon.

She shook her head. "No, James, he didn't hurt me." She said honestly while cupping his cheek in the palm of her small hand. She gently ran a thumb over his cheek. "If it's any consolation, he confessed his love to me, I rejected him," she knew that this wasn't the case with them, but it was quite close to what actually happened.

He studied her face for a moment before nodding. "All right, I guess I can't blame him for doing that. You are most beautiful, after all," said James with a charming smile. "Not to mention, very rare..." He slid a hand down her waist and to where the skin turned to crimson scales. "And also mine," he said bringing his lips to hers and kissing her.

She smiled at him as he spoke to her, pretending to be completely in love with him. She cupped his cheek in her hand as she felt his soft lips press against hers. She moved one of her hands to lay over his as it rested on her waist.

James smiled at her before pulling away, still keeping his eyes on her. He was sure she was completely his now. His doubts were now non-existent, so he could relax a little. He could also focus again on the special project he was working on. It needed to be finished by the time their wedding day came.

"Well enjoy yourself, I will check on you again later," he said to Sally before leaving the room.

James moved through the palace halls, going down a descending corridor that led to the palace's lower levels. He went to an old door with an ethereal light seeping out from the bottom of the doorway. He opened it and went inside, and very briefly the sound of hissing and whispering voices could be heard. They were cut off as the door was closed, and there was a click as the door locked behind him.

Despite himself, Sherlock went back out to sea the next day. He knew Sally wouldn't show up, and he was right. She didn't show up that day, or the day after that. A part of Sherlock told him that this was pointless, and he should just give up. But when he tried to, he felt an emptiness in his heart that he knew came from missing her. Sherlock still held on to hope, going out on his boat for the next several days.

One day the air was very cool and there was a slightly strong wind in the air. He had a feeling another storm was brewing. Still, he did not care. He still clung to that hope that he would see Sally again. It was that stubborn side of him that kept him going back to the sea. He still kept the shoreline in view, due to the storm. Sherlock went as far as he could without losing the shore, and then waited. He glanced up at the forming storm clouds, hoping they wouldn't stop him from seeing Sally.

Days passed as Sally began to work on reversing the magical properties of the bracelet, eventually something happened to it and the bright blue opal stone changed to a vivid white. She hoped that it meant what she thought it meant. She shoved the bracelet back into her bag and looked around the castle. She began to swim away, hoping to make it to the surface without the storm hitting. She pounded the water with her tail, letting the water glide over her body.

The current in the water gradually grew stronger and stronger as the storm advanced upon her, it was a race against time. She had to make it to the shore or she was sure that she would get severely injured when lightning struck the surface. She pushed harder against the strong current, trying ever so hard to get through the choppy waves. Soon enough, she surfaced, watching as Sherlock's boat rocked in the storm. She was too far away for him to see her, let alone hear her.

At that moment the strap of her bag holding the bracelet snapped, causing it to begin to sink. Sally followed it, she grabbed the bracelet and hugged it to her chest, swimming back to the surface. But, when she did the lightning struck the water, sending electricity through the waves and shocked through her body. In one last attempt to keep the bracelet on her body she shoved it onto her wrist. A bright spark, like the spark around her hands when she was furious, enveloped her tail; wrapping around it and slowly, but surely, it morphed into a pair of slim legs. Her body was completely bare and her long blonde hair had streaks of dark carmine running through it.

Thinking that she still had her long tail she took in a deep breath before beginning to cough up the water, she couldn't breathe, and panicking on the surface. She splashed around in the water before she stopped moving and her body went limp. She tipped her head back to try and stop the water from getting back into her lungs, but she kept taking on more water as everything went black for her and she began to sink - a desert blessing, an ocean curse.


	5. Chapter Five

Sherlock gripped his oars when the waves started getting stronger. Maybe he should leave, but then at that moment he saw a shape in the water. It looked like a mermaid, and he instantly thought it was Sally. He called out her name but his voice was lost in the wind. Sally was having trouble too, by the looks of it. Then Sherlock realized there was something wrong with her figure. There wasn't a tail, it was a pair of legs instead. As her head went back under the water, Sherlock dropped the oars and instantly dived in after her. He fought against the current, trying to reach Sally before she fell too far. He took a great breath and held it as he went under water.

Sherlock kicked his feet hard as he looked with squinted eyes at Sally's figure. He reached out and managed to grab her wrist in time. He immediately pulled her to him and held her close to his chest, coming back up to the surface. The boat was currently being tossed about by the waves, and they were still quite a distance from the shore. They would have to swim regardless. Luckily there was one current that could push them towards the shore, and Sherlock took it as he fought to keep both his and Sally's head above the water. Once they were close enough, Sherlock broke from the current and swam hard towards the shore. When the water started getting shallow, he was able to walk on his feet and carry Sally out of the water.

On the beach, he set her down on the sand and immediately started trying to get the water out of her lungs. "Hang in there, Sally, please!" he begged as he tried to save her life.

Everything was dark for her. She felt the pressure of his hands pushing down on her chest. Moments later here eyes flew open and Sally began to cough and splutter, the salty water passing over her lips. Sally leaned forwards as she coughed, her chest was heaving and tears sprang to her eyes. It hurt, her lungs felt as if they were burning from the inside. It was like she had acid poured down her trachea and the acid was corroding the inside of her lungs. She gasped for air as she looked around, she could barely breathe. She wasn't used to being on land, let alone breathing with her lungs and not through the small gills either side of her jaw. She gradually began to slow her breathing as she calmed down and got used to the lungs in her chest. But, there was one other problem. She didn't know how to walk, all of her life she had used a tail and now that the had legs she didn't know how to use them.

Sherlock sighed in relief when he saw her eyes shoot open and helped her sit up. He put a hand on her back to keep her steady as she fought to breathe properly.

"It's okay, you're safe now," he said once she was calm and breathing properly.

He looked at the legs spread out in front of her, legs that were clearly attached to her body instead of a tail.

Sherlock looked back at her face as he asked, "What exactly happened?"

She help up her wrist and kept breathing, trying to get used to the awful sensation. She didn't like it. She preferred the way she breathed underwater. She kept her gaze to her feet.

"Found a way to reverse its properties," she muttered.

She then realised she was completely naked.

"You don't happen to have any... Um, clothes?" She asked him shyly.

She looked to the creamy sand while drawing small patterns in the sand. The feeling was new to her too, and so was the feeling of her drying hair tickling her lower back.

He raised a brow when she said it had been due to the bracelet. He decided to worry about that later, Sally was more important at the moment.

"You don't mind wearing my wet shirt do you?" he said in response to the clothes question. "It's only temporary until I find you some dry ones, which are back at the palace."

As he spoke he realized how bad of an idea that would be. How would he explain Sally to anyone, and even more, to his father? Sherlock corrected himself then, knowing he didn't want to introduce Sally to his father anytime soon. Going to the palace would be out of the question.

"I'll take you to my seafront home. It's not very far from here, only about a couple miles. I don't know if I have a lot of clothes for women, but I can find you something," Sherlock said.

He peeled off his wet shirt and stood up, wringing it out and trying to get out as much water as possible. He stood away from Sally as he shook out the shirt before turning back to her and handing her the shirt.

"It's still really damp, but it should be enough until I get you there."

She frowned at him before taking the large shirt and pulled it over her torso. "You know, I have absolutely no idea how to walk," she sighed.

She stayed sat on the ground, wiggling her toes. The grains of sand slipped over her drying skin and she sighed, missing the ocean. She moved so that she was on her hands and knees on the floor.

"You're not going to take me to the palace are you, disguised as a seafront home?" She asked him bitterly before moving onto one knee.

She then pushed herself up onto both of her legs, her knees shaking slightly before dropping back down.

She sighed heavily before looking up at him with sad eyes. "Help me? Maybe, prince?"

He chuckled softly, thinking she looked like a child taking its first steps. Technically she was, since she had been born a mermaid. Sherlock took her hand and helped her up before moving one arm around her to take hold of her other hand.

Supporting her with both his chest and arm, he said, "Take one step forward, and then another. Put one foot forward, then the other, and repeat. I'll support you so you won't fall."

He gave her an assuring smile.

She smiled at him, looking over her shoulder to him. "Thanks," she muttered and began to walk forwards in the way that he had told her to.

It felt odd, having two separate legs and not just one long tail. She began to get used to the feeling and began to walk with slightly more confidence, but she still kept a tight hold on his hands, feeling his warmth for the first time. In the ocean when she had felt his hand the warmth was leeched from their skin, but here, she could feel it. Feel the warmth of his skin pressing against hers.

Sherlock nodded and kept a firm hold on her as she tried walking. He moved along with her, being careful not to step on her heels. He walked with her along the length of the beach and when he felt her getting less wobbly, he stopped them both momentarily.

"Do you want to try on your own?" Sherlock asked. "I'll be right behind you if you fall, but if you're not ready then that's fine too."

She shook her head, she didn't really want to let go of his hand; mainly because it was warm, and she was cold. She was used to being in the iciness of the ocean so his warmth was very welcome. In the light of day above the ocean her skin was almost as white as paper, her veins showing through her near translucent skin.

Sherlock was enjoying the warmth between them. He hadn't been this close to Sally before, at least not like this. Her skin shone in the light peeking out from the fading storm clouds. She was quite beautiful right here in his arms. He nodded when Sally shook her head. He didn't want to push her.

"That's all right. We need to get to the house before it gets dark anyway. I can carry you," he said before he scooped her up and held her bridal style. "You don't mind do you?" he asked, looking at her carefully.

Sally shook her head, holding her hands by her chest and she just looked plain shocked at how strong he was. But then again, she wasn't very heavy. She relaxed slightly and rested her head against his collarbone, but she kept her hands by her chest. She closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth of the setting sun against her skin. She slowly wrapped an arm around his shoulders so he didn't have to take all of her weight. While walking she breathed in his scent of the ocean and sandalwood. He smelled delicious.

He walked the two and a half miles it took to get to his seafront home. Sherlock held her securely until he reached the house. There were no servants here, since he had explained that he wanted to be a normal person when staying at the house. He had his own kitchen and everything, and he knew how to cook a little bit. Sherlock also knew that no one would come here without his permission, so Sally would be perfectly safe.

He walked into the house and into the lounge.

"Stay here, I'll go find you some dry clothes," he said as he set her down onto a sofa. "I'm the only one allowed here, so we'll be safe here. I promise," Sherlock assured her.

He left the room and went upstairs to where he found a wardrobe. He found a pair of trousers and a shirt that would probably fit Sally. He brought the clothes back into the lounge and set them down next to Sally.

"Um..." he blushed as he asked this, "Do you need help...dressing?"

Sally looked at the clothes with a frown.

"Um, yes," she said with a crease between her eyebrows.

The only reason why Sally had gotten his shirt on in the first place was because she had managed to get her head stuck in the arm holes before working out that her head did not go there.

"I think I can do the shirt, but not the," she held the trousers up. "Whatever these things are?"

She looked genuinely confused as she looked at the clothes. She was beginning to trust the man again, but it wasn't much trust; only a small amount of trust.

He smiled in mild amusement as he said, "They're trousers. Like the ones I'm wearing now."

He gestured to his own, which of course were still very wet from the ocean.

"Um, stretch your legs out so I can put them on, please," he said feeling a little awkward.

He was a gentleman and did not want to come off as rude or perverted. Still, Sally needed his help and he was obliged to do so. He knelt so he could put each foot through the right holes, and then slid the trousers up her legs. He tried not to look at the hairy spot between her legs that was supposed to cover her clit, and realized she needed to push herself up so he could get the trousers over her hips.

"Erm..." he blushed again and said, "Use your arms to push yourself up. I need to get this over your hips...please."

His face was a deep scarlet and he was trying hard not to seem interested in her clit or breasts.

She used her arms to push her hips up off of the seat, and just watched him push the trousers over her legs. She grinned at the bright colour of his cheeks. It sort of reminded her of her tail, and the streaks in her pale blonde hair. She quickly looked away from him and looked at the walls. She liked the feel of his fingers against her hips and sighed softly. She slowly moved the shirt over her body, exposing her breasts as she pulled the damp material over her head before tossing it to the side and pulled the fresh shirt on.

He looked away as she switched shirts and used the thrown aside shirt as a distraction.

"I should change into dry clothes as well," he said as he picked up the wet shirt. "I'll be back in a moment."

He went to his own room and changed into a dry shirt and trousers. He returned to the lounge and took a seat next to Sally.

"Feel better?" Sherlock asked her.

She watched him walk back into the room before staring at her cute toes again.

"Are all," she pointed to her toes. "of these this cute?" She asked him.

She pulled her legs up to her chest and smiled softly.

"Thank you for saving me," she said with a calm tone to her voice.

She glanced at him and blushed before looking back to her cute toes.

"Most of them are," said Sherlock with a smile. "But I personally think my left, big toe is rather ugly. But that's just my personal opinion." He shrugged and watched her curl up against herself. "You're welcome. I'm glad I found you in time," he said with relief in his tone. He studied her for a few moments, and then asked, "So...how have you been?"

"Mm, wedding's in a few months, not looking forwards to that," she said sadly.

James wasn't the most agreeable of men, but she still had to marry him. She didn't really want to, but she had to. And she would most likely have to have children with him to continue the family line.

"What about you?"

"Still ruling only a small portion of my...the king's country," Sherlock said, correcting himself before he referred to that man as his father. "I can't call him my father anymore, I just can't." He shook his head as he said, "I've lost all my respect for him." He went back to her statement about the wedding. "Let me guess, it's an arranged marriage?" Sherlock asked with a cocked eyebrow.

"Sort of," she shrugged.

She rubbed her face before noticing the deep maroon streaks in her hair.

"Did you notice these?!" She asked him, panicked.

She held one up and looked at it, with a frown.

"Seriously?!" She frowned even more.

She then had a thought; maybe bringing the King a taste of his own medicine will help Sherlock. Maybe by introducing him to the daughter of the last mermaid he slaughtered would show him what happened.

He looked at the strand of hair she held in her hand. It was the same colour as her tail had been.

"Interesting. I suppose your genetic code stays the same regardless if you're human or mermaid," he said thoughtfully. "Either way, it looks beautiful on you..."

He smiled and reached out, brushing a few strands out of her face. Then his face turned serious as he said, "I don't want to take you to the palace. It's too dangerous for you. You're welcome to stay here as long as you need to."

She tilted her head at him.

"Sherlock, if you take me to the palace, he'll just remember my mother," she said softly. She looked down at her feet again. She frowned some more. "Right," she nodded. "But, he can't hurt me, if you're with me," she smiled before leaning in to press a shy, yet platonic, kiss to his cheek.

His cheeks warmed at the feeling of her lips, but he looked at her with a serious expression.

"I don't want you to get hurt. He still has authority over me," Sherlock explained. "Please, just stay here until I figure something out. I want to keep you safe."

She looked at him and shook her head.

"You might not, but I'm the queen of the sea, technically," she shrugged.

She looked him up and down.

"If I wanted to I could have every ship that dares touch the ocean destroyed," she said in a matter of fact way.

She moved to kiss his cheek again before standing up on her own.

"So, do you have a bed I could use?" She asked him, yawning.

Sherlock knew she was right. Still, he couldn't help but worry about her.

"There's a spare room on the second floor," Sherlock answered, standing up in case Sally lost her balance. "Need help getting up there?"

She nodded.

"You're welcome to stay, if you like," she smiled at him as she took her first step without Sherlock's help.

She took another step before taking another. She was soon parading around the room proudly with a stupid grin on her face. Eventually she went over to the stairs and walked up them like she was made to walk up stairs. She went into the room and flopped down onto her bed. It wasn't as comfy as her bed back in Coralentia.

Sherlock watched her as she moved around on her own feet. He was glad to see her moving on her own, but a part of him missed being able to hold her as she tried to walk. Sherlock nodded and said, "I will stay here. I will write a letter to the king. Better than telling him and having to see his face." When Sally started going up the steps, Sherlock followed her to make sure she didn't fall. When he saw that she was safely upstairs and in her room, he sighed in relief for the fourth time that day. It had really been a long day, and he knew it was going to be a long few months with just the two of them here in this house. Sherlock didn't really mind however. He didn't want to be at the palace right now, and he was worried about leaving Sally alone here. He couldn't do that.

Sherlock went downstairs and to his study that he had made for himself. He wrote a letter explaining he was going to be on a few months vacation, since he wanted a break from his royal duties. He didn't say where he was staying, in case anyone decided to pay him a visit. Sherlock went out to the stables and rode quickly to the palace. He met with one of the guards and asked him to relay the letter to the king. After that, he returned back to his seafront home and stored his horse back in its stable. He walked back into the house and quietly went to Sally's room to see how she was doing. Seeing she was asleep, he smiled and went to his own room. He got into his bed and realized the extent of his exhaustion as his head hit the pillow. Sherlock closed his eyes and let sleep take over him.


	6. Chapter Six

When Sherlock woke up, it took him a moment before memories of the previous day's events came back to him. He sighed and sat up, glancing out his window. Sunlight was already coming in, and after further investigation, he learned it was about mid morning. Sherlock felt a little hungry, and guessed Sally might be hungry too. Then he realized he had no idea what kind of food Sally ate as a mermaid. Did she even eat meats?

Sherlock decided to find out by making a traditional English breakfast. He dressed and went to the kitchen, knowing how to cook thanks to his servants who had taught him before letting him handle the kitchen on his own. He checked to see what food they had and was pleased to see that they were well stocked. Sherlock smiled as he prepared sausage, bacon, a couple of fried eggs along with a few other things. He let the meat cool down and turned off the stove before going up to wake Sally.

Sally was already awake staring down at her legs. She had been awake for a few hours now after having a nightmare. Her skin looked pale as she stared down at the near translucent skin of her thighs. She missed her tail, but she knew that on land she would die if she took the bracelet off to get her tail back. When she heard Sherlock coming up the stairs she laid back down on the bed, and pretended to be asleep so he didn't ask why she was awake so 'early'.

When Sherlock walked into her room she closed her eyes. When she felt his hand resting on her upper arm she groaned, swatting his hand away from her with a noncommittal grumble. She opened one of her eyes and frowned at him before pulling the feather pillow over her head with a grunt. She didn't want to get out of bed.

Sherlock chuckled softly, finding her stubbornness rather amusing. "Sally, I know you're awake. Come on, get up," he prodded her. When there was no response, Sherlock sighed and said, "I've made breakfast. Aren't you curious to know what humans eat? Trust me, there's good food downstairs."

He waited in hope that Sally would respond this time.

She peered out from under the pillow.

"What sort of food?" She mumbled before sitting up in the bed.

Her blond hair was in a mess. Her hair had more volume in than it usually did, and it was full of knots. She took a deep breath before glancing at the gold framed mirror and seeing her reflection. She let out a disgusted laugh. She didn't know what to do with her riot of curls that bounced around her shoulders and waist.

Sherlock tried to avoid looking at her butt, and thankfully a different thought came as a distraction.

"I should take you into town to get some clothes for you," said Sherlock. "If you're up for it, we can do it after breakfast?" he gave her a questioning look.

Sally turned to face him and tilted her head. "Sure, as long as there's nothing around my legs," she nodded.

Sally walked over to her trousers and bent over, not bending her knees and gave Sherlock a very nice view of her little friend before she pulled the tight trousers on.

Sherlock swallowed and nodded before turning around.

"I'll be downstairs when you're ready," he said, wanting to give her some time to herself.

He went downstairs and made sure the food was still warm before putting plates on the table and filling them up. Then he waited for Sally to come down before he started eating.

Sally skipped down the stairs and sat down on a chair. She looked at the food and smiled. "Looks good, and smells pretty good too!" She complimented before picking up her knife and fork. She had been taught how to use human cutlery by her mother before she died and yet, she still remembered how to do it even now. She cut her sausage and put it into her mouth. It was definitely delicious.

Sherlock smiled when Sally finally came down.

"Thank you," he said in response to her compliment before he saw her pick up the utensils.

He realized he didn't know if Sally knew how to use them or not, but that question was answered right away as Sally used them with ease. He smiled in relief and ate his own food, eating the eggs first.

"You seem quite relieved that I am able to use cutlery," she said with a playful smirk.

She then went back to eating her hearty breakfast. The meats were cooked to perfection and the eggs, beans and the hash browns were also cooked well too. She had a happy smile on her face as she worked through the food on her plate. Soon enough the smile faded as she realised she had run out of food.

He made a half smile before continuing to eat. He cleared half his plate by the time Sally was done and let out a low whistle.

"Wow, not bad," he said nodding towards her plate. "Still hungry?" he asked her, an amused smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"No, not really," she said.

She was full, he had given her a large serving of the food. She ran a hand through her rioting curls and smiled.

"So, what do you plan for us to do after we've been clothes shopping?" She asked him as she set her knife and fork next to each other on the plate.

She looked very cute as she did; she crossed her legs under the table.

"Hmm, we could walk around the town? Get you acclimated to human life, since I don't know how long it'll be before you get your tail back," said Sherlock. Looking at her hair, he added, "We could find someone to fix your hair if you want. A new look might not be too bad, unless you want to keep this one." He gestured to her wild shock of curls.

"I think having a new hairstyle will be quite nice," she smiled softly. "But I definitely need to get some new clothes," she said with a sigh.

She hoped that she wouldn't have to wear dresses or anything like that.

Sherlock nodded and said, "Well then its decided. I'll take you to the shops and you can look around. Afterwards we can go to the barber's so you can deal with your hair."

He didn't add that there was something else he wanted to do with her, and it was something he hoped she would enjoy. Sherlock also had one servant in the house that did all the cleaning for him. He was going to have that servant take care of their dishes once they left.

He stood up and said, "Are you ready to go? If you want to go right now, that is."

"Oh, yeah, I can go now!" She said cheerily.

Sally also stood up, brushing any crumbs of the bread and the crispy part of the hash brown off of her if there was any on her. She took a ribbon from around a bouquet of wilting flowers and tied her hair back into a low ponytail. Most of the things that she had learned about the human world had come from her mother. She had been in a relationship with a fisherman and he had taught her their ways, and those teachings had been passed down to Sally. She frowned a bit.

"How will we be getting into the town?" She asked him, curious to know how.

Sherlock waited patiently until Sally was ready.

At her question he said, "By horse. Ah...you've never ridden a horse before, I'm sure, but it's not that hard. I'll show you." Sherlock gave her a reassuring smile and led her out of the house and to the stables.

He only had three horses in the stables, one for him, one for his servant, and one to keep the other two companies. Sally would be riding the third horse, and Sherlock led that horse and his own out to where Sally was waiting. His own horse waited obediently while Sherlock spoke to Sally.

"This is a mare named Cookie," Sherlock said, showing her the cream and russet coloured horse.

"She's very gentle, and should be good for a beginner like you. She's got a saddle on already so you just need to climb on like this..."

Sherlock went on to show Sally how to mount a horse and had her ride the horse around in a few small circles so she could get used to the feeling.

Sally led the horse around in circles before halting the horse.

"Well, that was surprisingly easy," she said with a smile.

Sally patted Cookies side and rubbed her shoulder. "So? Town, which shop shall we go into first?" She asked as she began to ride in the direction of the town.

She kept her hands tight on the reins and her feet secure in her stirrups. Sally's hair stayed in a pony tail that was low on the nape of her neck and the silken wisps of her hair floated in the slow sea breeze. The noon sun rose high in the sky and her eyelashes cast long shadows that stretched over her cheekbones.

"We'll go to the tailor first to see what your size is," Sherlock said as he mounted his own horse, a stallion named Raven. "Then we can shop for clothes properly."

He rode alongside her as they headed to the town. When they entered town, Sherlock led her down a street and they came to a tailor's shop. There was a place to put their horses so they did so and Sherlock headed into the shop with Sally. He explained to the tailor that Sally needed to find out what fitting she was before they got her actual clothes.

Sally did as the tailor told her to and raised her arms so that he could measure around her hips, her waist, her bust and her height. Eventually the tailor began to pin pieces of fabric to her blouse to pick out the best colours for her which, evidently, was different shades of red. No real surprise there! Sally ended up with a load of samples pinned to her and the tailor explained that the blouses and trousers he would be making for her would take around a week, quicker than usual since he was serving the Prince's lady friend.

Sherlock blushed when the tailor called Sally his 'lady friend.' Did he really think of her like that? Sherlock wasn't sure, but he didn't have time to dwell on it when the tailor announced that the measurements and everything were finished. Sherlock thanked the tailor and left the shop with Sally.

"Shall we go to the barber now?" Sherlock asked, "Or do you want to get some clothes to use for the week? I don't mind what we do, we have plenty of time."

Sally nodded to him.

"Yeah, let's go there and then we can do something afterwards," she smiled as she walked out of the tailors with a spring in her step and began to walk towards it.

She could see the sign and just walked straight over there, she avoided the people going this way and that, leaving Sherlock to trail behind.

Sherlock smiled a bit at her enthusiasm and hurried to catch up with her. He entered the barber shop with Sally and told the barber to just make her hair however she wanted it. Then he waited as the barber led Sally to her seat.

Sally asked the barber to give her a centre parting; he did as she asked and made the different parts of her hair different lengths, and gave it a bit more vibrancy. The new hairstyle suited her, and when she turned to face Sherlock she gave him a wide grin.

"How do I look?" She asked.

"You look beautiful," said Sherlock, and he meant it. He walked out of the barber shop with her and asked, "Do you want to ride around town on our horses?"

"Yeah, I think it could be quite nice to see where I'll be living for an undeterminable amount of time," she smiled at him.

She wanted to offer him her hand but she didn't. She didn't want to make things awkward between them, especially since things were going so well! She just folded her arms over her chest and looked at the ground as they walked back to their horses.

Sherlock made sure Sally safely mounted Cookie before he mounted Raven. Then he led the way, his horse trotting at a steady pace as they went around town. Sherlock led her out of the marketplace so they could look at the other areas in town. There was the town square where a large and beautiful fountain made the centre piece. There were some places that provided entertainment and he showed Sally where some of the most popular taverns were.

"So what do you think so far?" Sherlock asked Sally as they rode down another street that lead away from the town hall.

Sally smiled at him as she toured the town.

"I think the place is beautiful!" She exclaimed cheerily.

She really wanted to see the place where he lived when he wasn't living at the beach home.

He beamed at that and looked ahead, where the palace loomed over the town. It was set on a hill that made it higher than the rest of the town, a sign of his father's superiority, and also good design to avoid the worst of the tide whenever it came in.

"Do you want to go by the palace? We don't have to go in if you don't want to, but I thought you might like to see it up close," Sherlock offered, looking back at Sally.

She nodded to him enthusiastically, even though she was secretly hoping that she would be able to see the king. Sally looked up at the ominous palace and sighed, it was just as beautiful as she had thought it would be. Only the stone outer walls were carved, glistening marble that were made to look like they were the sea foam. Sally stroked Cookie's side before nudging her sides to make her go forwards towards the grand exterior of the palace.

"Do you think we'll be able to go inside of the outer walls?" She asked, forgetting that he was a Prince for a moment.

Sherlock chuckled in amusement.

"Have you forgotten who I am?" he said with a raised eyebrow. "Prince of Wales, remember? Come on, this way."

Sherlock led her to one of the gates where two men stood guard. They recognized the prince right away, and Sherlock explained that Sally was with him. They opened the gates and Sherlock led her into the outer grounds of the palace.

Sally rode into the palace, her horses hooves made a clopping sound on the paved stone path before she dismounted her horse to walk over to a flower that she had seen. She leaned down and took in a deep breath through her nose. The smell was luscious, and fresh. The flower itself was a vibrant yellow with petals that spiralled around until they reached the centre of the flower and the stem was covered with sharp thorns that dug into her fingertips as she brought the flower closer to her nose and pierced the soft skin. She let put a quick yelp of pain before licking the blood from her hand.

"What are these called?" She asked him as she looked at the flower.

Sherlock dismounted his horse as well and the horses obediently stayed in place while he followed Sally. Noticing the thorns, Sherlock had barely said the world 'careful' before Sally pricked her fingertips.

"They're roses," Sherlock said stepping closer to her and taking her hand, moving her fingers to a spot on the stem not covered by thorns. "You should be careful handling them. We usually wear gloves when doing so," he explained.

He took a cloth out of his pocket and put it in Sally's hand so she could have her fingers covered while holding the rose.

Sherlock heard voices nearby and turned to see his father and a few of his man servants walking on the grounds. Cold hatred rose in his stomach as he glared at his father. The King saw Sherlock and walked over, acting as if his son wasn't glaring daggers at him just now.

"Ah Sherlock! Welcome home. I didn't expect to see you here so early..." His gaze flickered over to Sally and his eyes widened. The King smiled at her and said, "What a beautiful woman. Is this your new lady friend Sherlock?"

Feeling protective of Sally, Sherlock took her free hand and moved slightly so he was partially in front of her.

"Yes, she is," said Sherlock, his expression cold.

Sally looked at Sherlock, slightly worried about what Sherlock would do if his father came near to her. She soon realised who the man was and an anger of her own flashed through her body. He was the man that had murdered her mother. Sally snarled before stepping out in front of Sherlock, the hand that was free clenched into a tight fist as she stared at the man.

"How many mermaids was it?" She asked him with fury in her usually calm voice. "Fifty? One hundred?" She snarled, the air around them grew heavy with tension.

Sally's rage caused the air's temperature around them to drop considerably and a frost glazed over the green grass and bright flowers.

"My mother was the last of them," she snarled.

She took another step towards the man. He was tall like his father, but he was older with greying hair and a dark beard that covered his chin and cheeks.

"You tested on her eight years ago, and then dumped her torso and severed tail back into the oceans, poisoning the water with her blood,"

Her brown eyes flashed with fury, and the glow that Sherlock had witnessed returned around her hands.

"I am going to give you one warning," she said as soon as she was stood directly in front of him.

"One warning, and if you do not heed that warning you and all of your people will suffer." Sally's voice was full of authority and power. "You will not harm a single mermaid, and if you do I will find out, and the oceans you live by will destroy your town," she said before calming herself and walking back to Sherlock's side.

Sherlock frowned when Sally suddenly snarled, and then he realized she was angry. He wanted to try to calm her, but then he felt the shift in the air and froze. He watched as Sally had a go at his father. He saw his father's face go pale and felt pride swell in his chest. He tried not to smile as Sally's voice rose and rang with power. His father's guards went tense, and Sherlock could tell they were torn between raising their weapons to defend the king and running away in fear. When Sally ended her rant and returned to his side, his father blinked several times before taking a long look at them.

"Well, you've certainly picked a passionate one," said the king.

He had clearly seen Sally's use of magical power, and the way she spoke of the mermaids, he couldn't help but wonder.

"I rather like her. Boy, don't tell me this is why you're hiding out in that beach house of yours?"

Sherlock didn't like the way he was eying Sally.

He growled and spoke sharply, "Yes it is, _your highness_," he said the last part scathingly. "And you will stay far away from her if you know what's good for you. I don't care if I'm being disrespectful, because guess what? I have no respect for you. Disown me, do whatever you like, but I'd rather stay in my beach house with her instead of in a palace inhabited by a cruel tyrant."

With that, Sherlock took Sally's hand and led her away back to their horses. He waited for Sally to mount hers before riding out of the grounds with her and back towards the beach house.


	7. Chapter Seven

Sally pulled on Cookie's reins before cantering out of the palace; her hair flew out behind her in a streak of red and gold, looking like flames. She guided her horse through the streets in the direction of the ocean of the beach house before she stopped outside of the stable and guided her in before briskly walking towards the sea, where she felt comforted with the hushing of the tide washing in and out. When she arrived at the sea she removed her supple leather boots and walked to the edge of the ocean where the cool salt water tickled her feet. She looked down at the crystal water and sighed. She knew that she would have to return to the sea soon, but she wanted to stay on land with Sherlock. Her father wouldn't allow it, and James, he definitely wouldn't allow it. She was his possession, his queen. The sea breeze moved strands of her hair from her face. The setting sun set her eyes ablaze, the brown turned to fires that shifted as her eyes moved along the horizon. Her eyelashes cast long shadows over her cheeks. She took a deep breath before walking back up to the beach house and curling up on the opulent sofa in the main living area.

Sherlock kept a speedy pace as he rode back with Sally to his beach house. He returned his horse to the stable and looked at Sally as she started heading towards the shore. He wanted to follow her, but had a feeling she would like some time to herself. He knew she would come back, seeing as she still had legs. Sherlock walked back into the house and removed his shoes before waiting for Sally to return. When she did, he took a seat beside her on the sofa.

"Sally?" he spoke her name cautiously. "Are you all right?"

She glanced at him with a pout on her face. "Yeah, I'm fine," she said sadly.

She curled up into an even smaller ball but then shuffled so that her head rested in his lap. She closed her eyes and sighed softly, thinking about the way that his father had called her 'passionate'. It wasn't passion that she had been feeling when she had her rant at him without letting the man get a single word in edgeways until she had finished.

"I'm just thinking about how much of an asshole your father is," she mumbled sadly.

Sherlock wasn't quite sure he believed her. When Sally rested her head on his lap, he put a gentle hand on the top of her head and brushed a few strands of hair from her face. He snorted when Sally called his father an asshole.

"Well, he is an asshole," Sherlock agreed. "I can promise you we're not going back there again though."

Sherlock thought back to the protective instinct that had emerged when his bastard father said he liked Sally. He sighed, hoping his father wouldn't try to come after them. Sherlock looked down at Sally, seeing the sad look on her face. He wanted to cheer her up somehow. He looked at her exposed side. A grin spreading across his face, he brought a hand to where her ribs where and tickled her there.

"Gotcha!" he said with a mischievous smile, tickling her with both hands.

Sally let out a shrill squeal and grabbed his hands to stop him from tickling her. It didn't work, she wasn't strong enough to get his hands off of her body, but she did try ever so hard to get away from the relentlessness of his hands on her body.

"Stop!" She laughed, as she scrambled to get some purchase to tickle him back.

She moved so that her legs were at either side of his and bent at the knees as she faced him. She gave him a devilish grin as she began to tickle his stomach, giggling as she did. Her fingernails were quite short so she didn't injure him. Soon, Sally leaned forwards slightly so that their lips were inches apart. She took in a shaky breath before tentatively pressing her lips against his. At first she missed his lips, her own lips touching the corner of his mouth. The second time she tried her lips touched his in the most perfect position. His lips were soft against hers, and slightly moist and warm.

He continued tickling her even when she took hold of his hands. He was surprised when Sally sat up and straddled his hips and started tickling him mercilessly. He laughed; glad to see that response from her. There was still a smile on his face even as Sally leaned down to kiss him. His eyes widened, but he returned the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He tasted her lips and was able to pick up on faint traces of the sea. He slid his tongue between her lips, tasting the inside of her mouth before pulling it back and nibbling slightly on her lower lip. Sherlock pulled his lips back when he found himself blushing deeply.

"That was...rather nice," he said with a shy smile.

In their passion fuelled moment, Sally's small hands made their way to rest against the toned muscle of his chest. When their lips separated she gazed down into his eyes which were the colour of the ocean after a storm. Sally had known that she had felt something for Sherlock but that feeling was amplified tenfold as their lips crashed together and their tongues explored each other's mouths.

"Yeah, I guess it was..."

He looked at her with a soft smile and gave her one more kisses, just a quick peck before he pulled back again. His smile turned into a smirk as he looked up at her face.

"Not bad...for a mermaid," he said teasingly.

"Not too bad for a human, either," she smirked.

She stifled a giggle as she began to tickle him again; her fingers tickled the toned muscle of his stomach before she leaned forwards again and brushed her lips over his. The kiss was fleeting, and lasted only for a second. She kept tickling him while she did that.

He tried to hide a chuckle but he couldn't since Sally started tickling him again.

"Hey..." he smiled as he let Sally kiss him once more.

Then he decided to tickle her back in order to get her to stop.

She squirmed on his lap when he tickled her, laughing as she did. Her hips pushed down against his as she squirmed. A goofy grin was plastered on her face.

He stopped after a short while so Sally could breathe. He admired her for a moment before a cool wind came in through a slightly opened window. Sherlock looked up and he could see it was getting dark outside.

"I should get a fire running," said Sherlock. "Can you let me up please?" he said since Sally was still on his lap.

He waited for Sally to get off of him before standing and walking to the fireplace. He had a small stack of chopped wood next to it, and got a few to put into the fireplace. He started a fire and said,

"It'll take a few minutes before the heat actually warms up the whole house." Sherlock walked to the opened window and shut it before rejoining Sally back on the sofa.

Sally moved off of his lap when asked, and while he was getting the fire running she ran up the stairs to grab one of the fur throws that was on her bed. She arrived back at the sofa while he was walking back to the seat. She had the smooth fur wrapped around her shoulders. She looked adorable while sitting there. The throw was different shades of grey fur. She opened it for him to join her on the floor in front of the fire with a soft smile on her face.

"Alright?" She asked him with a smile.

Sherlock saw Sally's invitation and went to her side. He sat down and let her put part of the blanket around his shoulders. It was quite comfy, and Sherlock liked it. He smiled back at Sally as he said,

"Alright." Sherlock put an arm around her shoulder so she could lean on him if she wanted.

She did lean on him, gazing into the crackling of the flames. Her eyelids grew heavy due to the warmth of the blanket, Sherlock's heat and the flickering of the flames. Soon, her eyes shut and she was sleeping with her head resting against his shoulder. Her breaths were soft against his skin and she had a serene, get pained look on her face.

He sat with her in silence as he watched the flames before them. The fire was somewhat hypnotic, lulling Sherlock into a state of relaxation as he sat with Sally leaning against him. After a half an hour had passed, Sherlock looked at Sally to see that her eyes were closed. He smiled at the sight of her sleeping and decided to bring her to bed. He moved slowly as not to wake her up and carefully cradled her in his arms as he stood. He carried her up the stairs and to her bedroom. Sherlock gently set Sally on her bed and pulled the covers over her. He took a moment to look at her, thinking she looked very peaceful sleeping.

"Good night Sally," he whispered before going to his own room.

Sally didn't stir in his arms as he carried her up the stairs and to her room. When she was placed onto the cool cotton sheets of her bed she curled up. When she felt the sheets over her a faint smile came to her lips. She relaxed when Sherlock left the room, her body unfurling as she moved to lie on her stomach. Her eyelids fluttered in her sleep as her dream of Sherlock and her going back to the palace to see the roses again twisted. The flowers began to turn red, and drip to the ground and scaled hands clawed up through the grass. Their nails were twisted, and hanging off of the nail beds, covered in a crisp layer of drying blood. The hands grabbed for her ankles, pulling her down with into the grass with them. She screamed. Her eyes flew open and she sat upright in the bed, her chest heaved with her laborious breaths.

Sherlock was sleeping lightly and dreaming that he was a mermaid again. This time however, he wasn't swimming in Sally's home city, he was just swimming through what seemed like an endless ocean. It was simply an ocean that just seemed vast with nothing in sight for miles and miles. He felt like he was heading to Coralentia, but no matter how far he went, he never seemed to get there. Then a scream cut through the skin of his consciousness, pulling him back into the waking world. He sat up, realizing it was Sally's scream.

Alarmed, Sherlock got out of the bed and ran out of his room. He went straight to Sally's room and went in without knocking.

"Sally! Hey, Sally, it's all right," he said as he sat by her and pulled her into his arms.

He held her close to him, whispering soothing words.

"Hey you're alright, it was just a dream." Remembering something, Sherlock pulled back and cupped Sally's face in his hands.

He looked right into her eyes and said, "Alright?"

Sally was panicking, but she wrapped her arms tightly around Sherlock's broad shoulders. She held onto him and buried her face in the warmth of his neck. She squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again. She looked up into his clear blue eyes and softly leaned into his touch.

"Alright," she muttered, closing her eyes again.

Her heart was hammering under her breastbone. She was deathly pale as she moved closer to Sherlock again. Her breathing slowly calmed before she felt the hot sting of tears coming to her eyes. She had no idea why she was doing this. It was like the sea was falling out of her.

Sherlock smiled and gave her a kiss on the forehead before letting him lean into his chest. He held her in silence, giving her a chance to calm down.

A few minutes passed and Sherlock whispered to Sally, "Do you want to tell me about the dream?"

She shook her head. She didn't really like talking about things, but she did feel far more comfortable and much safer than she usually did when she was with Sherlock that when she was without him. She softly nuzzled his chest and closed her eyes, wanting to sleep again but too scared to.

"That's all right," Sherlock said gently. "Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" he offered, wanting to give her more comfort for the rest of the night.

"Okay," Sherlock nodded and stroked her hair for a moment. "I'll stay here then." He pulled back and asked, "Do you think you can try to go back to sleep? I'll stay right next to you if you want."

She nodded and shuffled back down in her bed before resting her head back onto the fluffy pillow. She pulled the covers over her body and sighed. She closed her eyes before dropping off into a light sleep.

Sherlock watched her fall asleep, glad she was okay again. He made himself comfortable before putting a protective yet gentle arm over Sally. He fell back asleep knowing Sally was safe and sound.

Sally rolled so that her body was facing his and her face was resting by his neck. She took soft breaths as she slept, her sleep was very light. But sally knew that Sherlock would protect her if she woke.

Sherlock shifted only slightly as he felt Sally's body move under his arm. He held her a little bit firmly in his sleep, dreaming that he was in the ocean with her. They were swimming in that vast ocean again. However, as they swam the ocean started getting darker. Shrieks could be heard coming from below, and Sherlock got a taste in his mouth that was most definitely not salt water. Then he turned his head and looked at Sally in the dream. Sally was wearing her bracelet, and it was literally glowing brightly.

"Sally..." he spoke in his sleep.

Sally grumbled slightly in her sleep, she had heard him say her name but she didn't wake. She was having the same dream. She watched as the darkness spread through the water, like a drop of ink falling and diffusing through a glass of water. She turned to look at Sherlock, her expression was impassive but her eyes held the fear that she had concealed from the day that her father had agreed to having her marry James. The darken water burned the skin and scales of men and women who fought against its immense power.

As Sherlock watched the darkness spread, he saw shapes being formed in the darkness itself. Hideous looking creatures peeled themselves apart from the darkness, black and radiating pure evil. He looked down and saw merpeople trying to swim away and escape the creatures as they attempted to feed on them.

"Sally!" he said a little bit loudly, seeing her tail start turning back into a pair of legs again. "Sally no!"

Sally looked at him as her breathing faltered, her hands moved to grasp her throat as she tried to breathe normally, but she couldn't. The water burned her lungs, and the darkness enveloped her, one of the creatures grabbed her, dragging her limp body away from Sherlock. She didn't even struggle. She just allowed them to take her away from him. No words were spoken from her, but James emerged from the centre of the darkness, with a dark cackle as his creation poisoned all of her world.

Sherlock's eyes widened in horror as he saw Sally get taken away from him. He tried to go after her, but a laugh drew his attention away from Sally. He saw a merman with an inky black tail. The merman laughed cruelly at them both and a dark whisper rung in his ears. _Time is running out. Better hurry, little prince._


	8. Chapter Eight

At James' threat the couple awoke. Sally stared at Sherlock with horror written across her face. Her eyes showed fear and concern for her people. She sat up straight before rubbing her face. She knew that James had been doing something, and she hadn't picked up on it or try to stop it. She was feeling awful. Her world was going to be destroyed and there was nothing she could do about it.

She nodded. "I should have known he was going to do that," she whispered.

Her tone was frightened, and broken. The dream had really taken it out of her, and she felt physically sick at what he was going to do to them. She knew the name of those creatures that had taken shape from the blackest of sands, and took in the light from the ocean. They fed off of the life of the sea, taking it and twisting it before spitting it out of poison and acid. They were the Obsiracs, made from hatred, anger, and obsidian sand. They were killers, cold and hard, nothing like the merfolk of Coralentia. They would devour everything in the ocean and won't stop until everything was dead or enslaved. They only took their orders from one master.

"He's going to kill everyone," she let out a choked sob.

Sherlock looked at her, somewhat confused.

"That merman in the dream, you mean?" Sherlock asked. "You know him?"

She nodded. "I don't just know him," she muttered.

She showed him the necklace that was kept around her neck.

"I'm marrying him,"

Sherlock's eyes widened in horror again.

"You're betrothed to him?"

He shook his head in disbelief. He couldn't let her do that, not after what he had just seen.

"No way. I'm not letting that happen. He is not going to hurt you and he is not going to hurt any of your people," said Sherlock, conviction in his voice. "I promise, Sally, we'll find a way to stop this."

He put an arm around her and pulled her to him, hugging her close.

"I promise."

Sally tightly wrapped her arms around him too before looking up at him and pressing her lips against his. Sherlock's soft lips tasted of cinnamon as she ran her tongue over his lower lip. Slowly, she pushed her tongue into his mouth and pulled him closer to her. His large hands ran over her body as they kissed before they pulled her shirt up over her head and broke their contact.

The couple both removed each other clothes before he pushed Sally onto her back; he positioned himself between her spread legs and began to push in. He moved in inch by inch so that he didn't hurt her or tear her. When he was fully inside of her he waited a moment before slowly sliding out and pushing back into her. He kept his pace slow so she would get used to him before gradually gaining speed, and making his thrusts harder. He reached a hand down between her legs and rubbed the sensitive spot just above her entrance. He rubbed either side of her clit with his middle and index finger, heightening the pleasure he was giving her. He wanted her first time to be the most memorable.

Sally's moans were far and few between but they eventually became more frequent as she got used to the feeling of his movement into her. His large member quickly filled her then left her wanting more before slamming back in. She moaned at each of his thrusts; her head tipped back and her back arched as the pleasure built up inside of her. The muscles in her legs and lower abdomen coiled like a spring before getting released as she came, moaning out his name. Sherlock came moments after, pulling out and spilling his hot juices over her stomach.

Sally breathed hard; she looked up at Sherlock with adoration in her eyes. As he pulled out Sally wiped the liquid off of her torso and smiled at him.

"Sherlock, I-I think I'm in love with you," she whispered.

Sherlock was sweating and panting hard, trying to catch his breath. His breathing slowed to normal and he looked at Sally's face which was just as hot as his. He smiled when he heard what Sally said and answered with a soft kiss to the lips and whispering,

"I think I am too." Then he lay next to her, smiling at her lovingly. "That was incredible."

She smiled at his comment and rolled onto her side.

"It really was incredible," she murmured.

Before she pressed her kiss to his lips again she kissed his temple, and his cheekbone. She was wholly in love with him, and his tenderness. All throughout the moment that they had shared she had managed to forget about James' plan, but it came crashing back to her like a tidal wave.

Sherlock saw the worry return to Sally's eyes and put a hand on the side of her face.

"We'll figure it out Sally," he said. "Alright?"

She nodded. "Alright," she murmured before kissing his cheek again.

"Come on, let's try to go back to sleep," said Sherlock, holding Sally close to him. "In the morning I'll show you how to cook breakfast, if you want. Interested?"

She nodded slowly, wrapping her arms around him again. She closed her eyes and steadied her breathing.

"Good," Sherlock smiled and kissed the top of her head.

He closed his eyes and slept with his arms around her for the rest of the night. The next morning, Sherlock woke up with his nose buried in curly hair. He pulled his head back so he could yawn without inhaling a mouthful of hair. He looked fondly at Sally's sleeping face and caressed her cheek with a thumb until she woke up.

She grumbled slightly as she woke. She wrapped her arms around his waist with a sigh and grumbled some more. "It's too early!" She whined as she nuzzled his warm neck.

Sherlock made a soft chuckle.

"Is not," he murmured into her hair.

He stayed like that with her for a few more minutes. Then he brought a hand to her ribs, moving his fingers quickly over the skin.

"If you won't get up, then I'll just keep doing this," he said with a grin as he tickled her.

She giggled as she was tickled, swatting his hands away from her as she squirmed.

"Stop!" She laughed as she got out of the bed. "I'll get up! I'll get up!"

She laughed and began to get dressed to make breakfast with him.

Sherlock smirked when she finally gave in. He pulled his arms back so she could get up and watched her for a minute before getting up as well. Sherlock put brown trousers and a white shirt on before heading downstairs with Sally.

"I'll show you how to cook eggs first," said Sherlock as he walked into the kitchen with her.

She nodded, looking down at him and hoped that she wouldn't mess up making the eggs. She watched as he did, then did the action too. She did it badly, but she still did it.

"It takes a few tries," Sherlock said gently. "Don't worry too much about it. We'll try beans next."

Sherlock got a pot and put it on the stove. Then he went on to teach Sally how to cook beans.

Sally watched him intently. She gave up on watching it and wrapped her arms around his waist, her hands resting against his firm chest.

Sherlock chuckled and said, "It's all right. I'll just make the rest."

He finished cooking breakfast while letting Sally keep her arms around him. When breakfast was ready though, he had to peel her arms off of him and send her to the table.

"Let's eat," Sherlock said once they had sat down with the food in front of them.

She smiled at the food and picked up her cutlery, beginning to eat the food. Under the table sally moved her foot to nudge his and giggled quietly as she did it again. She put a mouthful of the food in her mouth.

Sherlock ate his beans first while stealing glances at Sally to see how she was liking her food. He raised a brow when Sally nudged his foot and smiled as well. He nudged it back before taking another bite of his beans. He winked at Sally and slid his foot over hers.

She smiled and nudged the foot that was over hers with her other foot, beginning to eat some more of her food. She was trying to hide her smiles from him as she did so.

"Oh please," said Sherlock when he saw her fighting to hide her smiles. "I know exactly what you're doing."

He grinned and put his other foot on top of hers, so now they had a foot stack under the table.

A smirk came across his lips. "Well if you want to play that way..."

He pulled both of his feet back and captured one of her feet with them, rubbing the top and bottom with each foot. Then he acted like he wasn't doing anything as he ate the last of his beans.

She squeaked at the tickling on her feet. She kicked at his feet, giggling as she did.

"Stop!" She squeaked but then stopped as she slipped it out of his foot grip.

She captured one of his feet and did the same.

He grinned and used the temporary distraction to reach over with his fork and steal a bite of her sausage. He quickly put it in his mouth and gave Sally another wink.

She pouted at him as he stole some of her sausage before finishing her breakfast.

"You know, I bet you probably can't do that very well with a tail," said Sherlock referring to the game of footsie they just played. Then he took on a more sombre look as he asked, "Do you miss your tail?"

Sally nodded once. "I do miss it, but I'd miss you more," she said quietly, her voice dropping slightly as she continued speaking. "James wouldn't let me go to the surface when I married him, he said that explicitly."

"Well I guess I'll just have to keep him from doing that, now won't I?" said Sherlock.

He glanced briefly at her wrist, the one with the bracelet. Then a thought occurred to him.

"Sally, have you taken that bracelet off since you came to the surface? I wonder if you'll be a mermaid again if you take it off."

She sighed. "I'll be a mermaid again if I take it off, and if I become a mermaid again I'll most likely dry out and die," she said morosely.

He held back a chuckle as he said, "Well I meant we could test that in the ocean. Swim out a little bit and see what happens?"

"Yeah, that'll be nice," she smiled at him before hopping to her feet and kissing him softly on the lips.

Sherlock nodded before standing up. He got his sole servant in the house to clean up for them and turned to Sally.

"Want to ride our horses or walk to the beach?" he asked.

"Let's walk," she smiled at him before kissing him again.

She liked the feel of their lips pressed together.

As Sally kissed him, Sherlock couldn't help but wonder what her lips would taste like underwater. He decided to find that out later.

"Alright, we'll walk then," said Sherlock before leaving the house with Sally.

He held her hand gently as they walked down the path to the beach, his fingers intertwined with hers.

Sally smiled at him, breathing in the crisp scent of the ocean as they neared the shoreline. Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail and she began to feel giddy with excitement of going back to her home.

Sherlock could sense her excitement and smiled back at her. He walked to the water with Sally and got into the ocean. He went with Sally through the water until it came up to their shoulders.

"Alright, ready?" he asked Sally. "If this works, I'm going to put the bracelet on and hopefully the effect will still work on me."

She nodded and slowly removed her bracelet. Her legs were pushed together then the scales grew back. The bracelet rested in her hands before she handed it to him. The water felt good around her tail.

Sherlock slid on the bracelet and waited. Then he felt his legs meld together and turn into a tail. He sighed in relief, glad that the bracelet still worked for both of them.

Then he remembered what he wanted to do earlier and whispered, "Let's go underwater."

Sherlock dunked his head under the ocean's surface and swam down a little ways before waiting for Sally to join him. Once she did, Sherlock pulled her into a tight embrace and kissed her intensely. She tasted just as sweet but now with the addition of salty water on their lips.

He pulled back and grinned at her. "I wanted to do that."

She laughed slightly before kissing him again, but twice as deeply and pushed her hands through his curls.

He slid his tongue inside her mouth and was surprised to see that the water did nothing to disrupt his exploring Sally's mouth. He slid one hand down so he could feel her scales and caressed her scaly hip gently as he kissed her.

She pushed her tongue over his, moving it in circles over his and pulled on his hair. She was deeply in love with him; it was perfect being with him.

Sherlock smiled against her lips and gave her another passionate kiss before pulling back.

"Want to go back to Coralentia?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No, if James sees you there all hell will break loose, and I'll have to marry him,"

"Hmm, well do you know of any other places we can go where we won't be seen by him?" Sherlock asked curiously.

She shook her head, "They're all too far away from here," she murmured.

"Well then let's just swim," said Sherlock. "Just you and me and the sea." He smiled and took her hand. "Come on."

Sherlock swam a bit deeper into the ocean with Sally before levelling out so they were moving straight ahead. The water felt nice on his skin, even though it was a bit heavier due to the depth. Then Sherlock frowned, realizing how familiar this looked. All around them was nothing but ocean. Any disturbance in the water was caused by only them. Behind them, two trails of bubbles were left behind from their tails.

Then Sherlock felt a new disturbance in the water. He turned his head to see a faint outline of something in the distance. It was coming towards them, and Sherlock found himself gripping Sally's hand in a protective manner. The shape came closer and Sherlock could see a pure black tail and a face that looked human. Somehow he knew it was James.


	9. Chapter Nine

Sally looked at the man with dark hair, dark eyes and a black tail in fear. She let out a choked 'No' before swimming to hide behind Sherlock, even though she was the more powerful of the two.

"James," she whimpered before realising that she wasn't wearing the engagement necklace.

She had left it in Sherlock's beach home.

James saw his betrothed and smiled, but that quickly faded when she hid behind the merman with her. He left the mass of darkness to approach them.

"Sally," he said in a cool voice. "Such a surprise to see you all the way out here. I take it this is who you've been with all this time?" He nodded towards Sherlock, who bristled in response.

Sherlock's tone was cold as he spoke, "And I take it you're Sally's betrothed?" He looked back at him evenly.

James chuckled darkly and said, "Aren't you a smart one?" He swam closer to the two of them. "If you know that, then you should know you need to get away from her right now. She belongs to me."

"Not anymore," said Sherlock not flinching under his gaze.

"I can so easily kill you, you realize that?" James threatened.

"You'd break her heart if you killed me, do you want that?" he asked back.

"I don't give a shit about her feelings," he responded coldly.

"You bastard!" With that Sherlock lunged himself through the water at James, wanting to strangle him right then and there.

In a moment of sheer panic, Sally did the only thing that she could think of. Sally's hands and wrists sparked a bright red before Sherlock was stopped in his tracks by an unseen force. Sally looked at James.

"Why are you doing this?" She asked him fiercely.

Her hands still glowed a deep red which pulsated with the beating of her erratic heart.

James moved back when Sherlock came towards him, about to taunt him when suddenly he saw a flash of red coming from Sally's wrists. Sherlock came to a halt, an invisible barrier blocking his path. He looked over his shoulder at Sally in confusion, and James took the chance to slip past him and to Sally.

"Because I want complete control of the seas," he said to Sally. "I want it all, everything. You will help my image, make me look good. I need a Queen at my side if I want to gain popularity."

Before he could say anything else, something crashed into him.

Sherlock had shoved him out of the way, glaring daggers at him.

"You're a selfish bastard, you know that?" he hissed at James.

The other merman only laughed in response. "You're a prince aren't you? I can tell, the way you hold yourself. That means you know what it's like to have power. Haven't you ever wished you had more?"

"Yes, but not in the way you do," said Sherlock crisply. "Whatever that is," he pointed at the darkness behind them. "I can't let you use it to hurt anyone. I simply can't."

James laughed darkly. "It's such a shame that you think that!" He grinned at Sherlock before looking to Sally with a smirk. "You'll have to sacrifice the one thing you care about most, and I highly doubt that you're willing to give our little bird up, are you?"

His eyes widened. A sacrifice with something he cared about the most? He wasn't sure if he should believe James or not.

He turned to Sally and asked, "Is he telling the truth?"

She looked at Sherlock and nodded.

"Yeah, he is," she whimpered.

God, she was scared now.

"No..." his heart sank when Sally said yes.

It couldn't be true, he didn't want it to be true, but Sally and James knew more about magic than he did. He took Sally's hands into his, looking at her sadly.

"I don't want to lose you, Sally." He thought desperately for a better solution. "What if I sacrificed myself?" he suggested. "Would that work?"

James chuckled and said, "How chivalrous. Unfortunately it won't. Either you let her be the sacrifice or you let me rule the ocean. Your choice." He grinned like the cheshire cat and said, "What's it going to be?"

Sally looked at Sherlock with pain in her eyes. She couldn't lose him, and it seemed like he couldn't lose her. She wrapped her arms around Sherlock's shoulders and sobbed quietly into his neck.

"I love you Sherlock," she whispered before looking at James.

Sally pulled away from him and sighed. She had to do what was best for the ocean. She wasn't going to let James rule it.

His eyes glistened with tears as he held Sally tightly, burying his face in her hair. He memorized every inch of Sally, taking in her scent and her soft skin. He knew there was probably nothing else they could do. They didn't really have a choice. He reluctantly let go as Sally pulled away, looking at her with a pained expression.

"I love you Sally," he whispered back.

Sally looked at James before glancing at Sherlock.

"I'll do it, I'll let you sacrifice me," she mumbled.

She hugged Sherlock one more time and pressed a tender kiss to his lips.

"I love you Sherlock," she whimpered.

She took a deep breath before swimming closer to James.

"Please be careful," he said, giving her hand a tight squeeze before letting her go to James.

James grinned as Sally approached him.

"Well isn't this sweet? Well I hate to tell you this, but I'm not going to let you win this easily." With that, he turned to the obsidiacs and shouted, "Kill them!"

Several of the creatures let out battle cries as they swam quickly down towards Sally and Sherlock. He took that chance to swim past James and Sally to try and fight off the creatures himself.

"I won't let you near her!" he shouted at them.

Sally grabbed Sherlock before he could go passed them and kept a tight hold of him.

"It's no use Sherlock!" She sobbed.

She ran her hands over his chest, feeling his body once more before the obsidiacs swarmed around the three of them like a swarm of locusts. But they never neared them, unable to touch the couple as the red light from Sally's wrists, mixed with a deep blue from Sherlock's wrists enveloped the couple and James. The colours burned away at James, but that didn't stop the obsidiacs, they still remained.

Sherlock sighed and looked right at Sally as he said, "I need you to trust me, my love. Please, just trust me. Alright?"

"Alright, I trust you," she whispered before feeling her eyes stinging at the sensation of tears coming. She was going to lose him, she knew that she was, and she would have to live on without him even though she never wanted to lose him.

He gave her one final kiss before pulling away and turning to face the Obsidiacs. He looked at them with a bold look in his eyes.

"You hungry?" he asked them, tauntingly.

He moved out of the bubble encasing the three of them.

"Come and get me!" he swam right into the horde of obsidiacs.

The obsidiacs started to feed on them, their mouths becoming wide gaping holes of blackness. Sherlock let out an agonizing scream as he felt the life get drained from him.


End file.
